Urban Meyer talks about National Signing Day

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Thursday afternoon, Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer called in and joined The Dan Patrick Show to talk about college football’s National Signing Day.

While watching, notice how Meyer never, ever, says the name M*ch*gan.

It’s refreshing to see a coach that loves and cares about the team as much as Coach Meyer does. As I stated in my last post, it’s about more than just football to Meyer, and that’s what makes him such a great fit to the program.

To me, the highlight of the video was when Meyer talked about how kids need to meet great the expectations of The Ohio State University, seeing as the school isn’t an easy institution to get in to. His line about wanting the young men to succeed just proves how much of a blessing Meyer truly is to the program.

More than Football

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In today’s sporting world, it’s all about winning. You can’t go a year without hearing about at least one recruiting violation. (Insert joke about Jim Tressel here).

However, among the hustle and bustle of college football’s National Signing Day yesterday, a light of hope for the Ohio State program was seen after Head Coach Urban Meyer’s press conference.

What this video shows is that this job is more than just football to Meyer. He cares about the players and wants to see them succeed. After an amazing 12-0, undefeated season last year, Meyer is still extremely motivated to see his Buckeye’s succeed.

“We’re going to develop as hard as we ever have,” Meyer said to reporters yesterday.

So now I have one question…is it fall yet?

Ohio State-Michigan, Round 2

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Tuesday night the Buckeyes take on rival Michigan for the second time this season.

In their first match-up, the Buckeyes knocked off the undefeated Wolverines at home.

Seth Greenberg goes to the game tape and does a great job breaking down the game, check out the video here!

After losing to Indiana on Saturday, you can bet that Michigan will be ready for get back on the right track on Tuesday night. As if playing another top ten team wasn’t enough motivation, the fact that Michigan has the opportunity to get revenge on the rival Buckeyes makes this game even bigger for Ohio State.

The backcourt match-up between Michigan’s Trey Burke and Ohio State’s Aaron Craft might be the most exciting one-on-one battle you see all year. Burke’s offensive explosion and Craft’s dominate defense are enough to make any true college basketball fan excited for the game, let alone its the third versus the tenth best team in the nation.

If Craft can keep tabs on Burke, and Ohio State Forward Deshaun Thomas can knock down jumpers early, the Buckeyes have a good shot at knocking off The State Up North for a second time this season.

Top 5 Ohio State Athletic Traditions

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“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

“O” – “H” – “I” – “O”

The cheer circles around the Schottenstein Center and The Horseshoe during every home Ohio State athletic event. As I listened to the student section during last night’s game against Wisconsin, I couldn’t help but think of how great a tradition “The Ohio Chant” truly is.

I then began to think about the rest of the great traditions surrounding Ohio State athletics, and proceeded to compile the following list: The Top 5 Ohio State Athletic Traditions.

  1. Block-O: Overlooking the opposing team’s end zone, “Block-O” is the section of the stadium reserved for Ohio State students only. The section was created in 1938, and has grown to become the largest student organization on Ohio State’s campus (not to mention one of the rowdiest).
  2. The Victory Bell: Residing in the southeast tower of The Horseshoe, the bell is rung following every Buckeye victory. Given as a gift from the classes of 1943-1945, the bell can be heard (on a calm day) from up to five miles away.
  3. Carmen Ohio: Composed by freshman Fred Cornell following an 86-0 loss to The State Up North (M*ch*gan), Carmen Ohio is the oldest song still used by the university. After every home game the Ohio State Marching Band leads the team and fans in the singing of the first verse.
  4. Script Ohio: Before every home game, The Best Damn Band in the Land spells out “Ohio” in what is considered one of the best pregame performances in all of sports. Usually, the ceremonial “Dotting of the I” is done by the drum major. However, many famous Buckeye alums have been given the honor.
  5. The Game: Finally, we come to my favorite Buckeye tradition: the Michigan game. “The Game” is played at the end of every season, and any true Buckeye will tell you it’s the most important game of the season. Ohio State-Michigan is one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, so what better way to end the season than with a victory against The State Up North?

Buckeyes tame Nittany Lions with 65-51 victory

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When you hold the Big Ten’s leading scorer to 11 points, chances are you’re going to be in the game. The only exception: Penn State on Saturday against Ohio State.

The Nittany Lion’s defense held Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas to a dismal performance on offense (11 points, 4-13 shooting), but couldn’t find an answer for the Buckeyes’ 6-7 sophomore Forward Sam Thompson.

Thompson led the game in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, as the Buckeyes took advantage of the Nittany Lions slumping offense.

Jermaine Marshall of Penn State matched Thompson’s 16 point effort as the Nittany Lions lost their eighth straight Big Ten match up, falling to 8-12 on the season. Penn State didn’t fold in the match up, but clutch foul shooting from Lenzelle Smith Jr. (5-6 in the last five minutes) kept the game in favor of Ohio State (15-4, 5-2).

Normally, being ranked 11th in the country would be seen as a success to most programs. It’s safe to say that after watching games like this, the Buckeyes have clearly underperformed thus far in the season. Yes, they did beat Michigan when they were the second ranked team, but let’s not forget the fact that they blew a 20 point lead.

Aaron Craft is having another standout defensive year, but the main problem with the Buckeyes continues to be finding that consistent scorer. Last year, it was easy for Thomas to go on shooting rampages with Jared Sullinger being double teamed on a nightly basis. Now, being the main scorer and threat, Thomas is drawing the defensive pressure, forcing players such as Craft and freshman Shannon Scott to move into more important scoring roles.

Until Coach Thad Matta finds that piece to the offense, the Buckeyes will continue to struggle through victories. You better believe that if this team shows up during tournament time in March, it’ll be a slow dance for the Buckeyes.